2011 Winged Foot profiles: Jasmine Vecchio, Lely

NAPLES - Graduating seniors from Collier County high schools are eligible for the Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete award, which was created in 1990 by the Collier Athletic Club. The winner will be revealed at the banquet Thursday, May 26 at Naples Grande Resort. The winner receives a $10,000 scholarship — $2,500 a year for four years; the other finalists receive one-time stipends.

Jasmine Vecchio isn't afraid to be challenged.

Already with a 5.0-plus grade-point average and experienced in basketball, Vecchio decided she would join Lely's track and field team as a junior. On top of that, she added the pole vault to the high jump.

"I liked the challenge it gave me, because that's definitely the hardest (of her sports)," said the Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete award finalist, who was ranked second academically in her class of 315. "(The pole vault) was actually fun. I had never done it before. For a specific area, (the coach) wanted me to do it so we could get more points. I actually came to like it. I scored at districts with it, too."

"He really understood me as a person, and how I worked," Vecchio said. "He knew I was capable of things, and he told me that 'The only thing that's blocking you from achieving this right here and right now is your mind.'"

Like any successful student-athlete, Vecchio has become adept at time management.

"It hasn't always been a walk in the park," she said. "I've learned how to manage my time. I'm the person who likes to get everything accomplished in a specific way so it's to the best of my ability."

"This is the third year I have had the pleasure of working with Jasmine, and to be frank, she has impressed me beyond belief each and every year," counselor Lyndsey Dombroski wrote in a recommendation letter.

One of the athletic challenges that Vecchio faced was a rotation of coaches in her favorite sport, basketball. Brandon Miller coached the varsity during Vecchio's first two years in the program. Paul Johnson was the coach when Vecchio was a junior, and former Naples High star Kirsti Jones took over this past season.

"It was difficult because they were all different in their styles," Vecchio said. "I think Lely's basketball team will come to build in the future. When I was on it this past year, it was a building year."